County Government Archives

The Barrow County Board of Commissioners, just like many local government officials, are faced with the tough task of determining funding for their budgets and capital improvement projects (CIP) for Fiscal Year 2016.

The BOC met Monday evening, for over three hours, to discuss the proposed FY2016 budget, but never got past the capital improvement project list.

For the first hour of the meeting, the commissioners and county manager Randall Dowling, went back and forth about what items on the CIP list, that totaled $6.3 million, were needs and what were wants.

“We can’t get everything on this list,” said commissioner Kenny Shook. “We need to prioritize.”

The CIP list contains 50 items from the various county departments.

Dowling told the board during Monday night’s meeting he put the items on the list in priority order as per each department head.

“When I asked the department heads what they needed this is what they gave me,” Dowling said.
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The campaigning for the vacancy on the Barrow County Board of Commissioners has begun.

Already campaign signs for some candidates can be seen at residences and businesses in the area. The race to fill the District 3 seat, left vacant by the resignation of Steve Worley, will be fought for among four candidates including Roger Wehunt, Donald Wildsmith, Robert Lofton and Scott Vickery. All signed up during the recent special election qualifying period.

Barrow’s county manager, Dowling was a finalist for the city manager of Port Orange, Fla., but was not selected for the position. Dowling has been county manager for Barrow since late 2013.

Port Orange officials selected Michael H. Johansson, a former city manager of U.S. Naval Support Activity in Hampton Roads, Va. A total of 89 applicants applied for the job, reports indicated.

Dowling was at Tuesday’s Board of Commissioners meeting and no mention was made of his being a finalist for the out-of-state job. Dowling makes more than $100,000 as Barrow’s county manager but the job in Florida would have been a pay raise.

In other business, BOC members will hold three budget workshops next week on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 5-8 p.m. each day in the Barrow County Historic Courthouse.

Barrow County elections supervisor Monica Franklin said two candidates qualified Monday, including Roger Wehunt and Donald Wildsmith, for the vacant seat on the Barrow County Board of Commissioners.

Qualifying for the special election began Monday and was scheduled to continue through Wednesday, June 3, at the Barrow County Elections Office with a sign-up fee of $180. Advance voting will be Aug. 24-Sept. 11.

By Wednesday morning, two additional candidates — Robert Loftin and Scott Vickery — had signed up run.

Franklin said later Wednesday that four was the final number of candidates who signed up to run for the vacant seat.

The resignation of Barrow County commission member Steve Worley could end up costing taxpayers $12,000.

The Barrow County BOC voted last week to designate that amount for the upcoming special election to fill the seat. Worley resigned following federal indictments on charges of bribery and theft from his time at the City of Monroe public works department in neighboring Walton County.
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The Barrow County government’s general fund was in the black last fiscal year with a net of $518,000. That has left the county with a little over $10.2 million in unassigned reserves.

The county took in $35.6 million in its general fund, the majority of which came from taxes. General fund expenses topped $31.1 million.

Public safety, primarily the fire/EMS department, sheriff’s office and jail, accounted for $18.4 million in general fund expenses. General government was another $5.6 million.

In the county’s water and sewerage Fund, the county had an operating loss of $1.2 million before transfer. However, much of that was for a non-cash expense of depreciation and amortization which was $2.1 million in expenses.

Barrow County Government FY2014 Audit

Revenues
Taxes $27.8 million
Licenses/permits $989,000
Intergovernmental $98,200
Service Charges $5.2 million
Fines $1.4 million
Other $39,900
Total Revenues $35.6 million

Expenses
General Govt. $5.6 million
Judicial $2.9 million
Public Safety $18.4 million
Public Works $1.8 million
Health/welfare $470,800
Culture/Rec $786,600
Housing/Develop. $459,900
Debt Service $423,200
Total Exps. $31.1 million

The special election to fill the seat previously held by District 3 commissioner Steve Worley has been set for Tuesday, Sept. 15.

Worley resigned his seat following a recent federal indictment from his days as City of Monroe Public Works Director. He resigned in a letter to Governor Nathan Deal, who later officially accepted the resignation.

Elections supervisor Monica Franklin said candidates, who must reside in District 3, will qualify in the elections office at 233 E. Broad Street in Winder. Qualifying will be June 1-3. Advance voting will be Aug. 24-Sept. 11. The winner must receive 50 percent plus one or a runoff will be held Oct. 13.

In addition to residing within the District 3 borders, a resident must have lived in that area for one year. Candidates will sign up using party affiliate but those not wishing to run as a Republican or Democrat may still sign up without having to gather signatures. All candidates will be listed on the ballot with the top vote getter winning, as long as 50 percent plus one is obtained.

It’s now official: Steve Worley is no longer on the Barrow County Board of Commissioners.

Worley’s resignation letter was accepted by Governor Nathan Deal on April 29. Worley’s submitted a letter of resgination for “personal reasons” on April 24. He was technically still a member of the BOC until the governor accepted his resignation.

Worley has been surrounded by controversy for more than two years followed his dismissal from his job as public works director for the City of Monroe. Worley was fired from that job in early 2013 for abuse or theft of city property and the “willful making of false statements.”

After a federal investigation, Worley was recently indicted as he alledgedly accepted $4,000 in bribes to influence which company was awarded a paving bid. It also claims Worley used more than $6,000 in government funds to “secure a Ford F700 truck” for personal use to repair his driveway.

A special election will be held to determine Worley’s replacement.

Barrow County elections supervisor Monica Franklin was out of the office Monday through Wednesday of this week and unavailable for questions regarding the special election.

According to the county charter, a special election must be set within 15 days of the vacancy and the election must then be held 30-45 days after that.

Worley was in the middle of another term on the BOC. He was re-elected in November 2012, just weeks before his dismissal from his job in Walton County.

County chairman Pat Graham told media after Tuesday’s BOC meeting that she had received a copy of a letter Worley sent to Governor Nathan Deal indicating that his resignation was effective immediately.

“People have been asking me if he had given me his resignation,” Graham said. “He could not resign to me or the board. He had to resign to the governor.”
Graham said she received a copy of Worley’s resignation letter, dated April 24, late Tuesday afternoon.

Worley who was recently indicted on federal charges of theft and bribery could possibly face up to 20 years in prison. Some citizens who attended Tuesday’s meeting said they did so to see if Worley would be there.

Barrow County commissioner Steve Worley was indicted last week on theft and bribery charges stemming from his former job in Walton County.

His future on the BOC remains undecided and will ultimately be decided by a commission formed by the governor’s office.

Worley’s legal troubles stemmed from his time as public works director for the City of Monroe. The federal indictment alleges Worley was willing to accept $4,000 in bribes to influence what company was used for rental equipment. Also, the indictment claims Worley used $6,400 of government funds to obtain a Ford F700 truck for his personal use to repair his driveway. Worley has been on the Barrow BOC since 2009.
Worley was arrested following the indictment last week and quickly bonded out for $10,000.

Worley assumed the post in 1996 for the City of Monroe and in 2007 was named Public Works Employee of the Year by Keep Georgia Beautiful. But two invoices raised flags with City of Monroe officials and an internal investigation was launched. Worley was eventually terminated in January 2013, not long after beginning a new term for the Barrow BOC, for violation of personnel policies and procedures, which included “violation of city policies including but not limited to; abuse or theft of city property, the willful making of false statements to supervisors, officials, the public, boards, commissions or agencies.”
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As of Monday, March 30, roughly $1.76 million in Barrow County taxes were still unpaid.

The due date for paying the 2014 property taxes was Monday, Dec. 15, 2014.

After the Barrow Journal published a list of delinquent taxpayers and their properties in its Feb. 25 issue, as of Monday, March 30, $41,953,872 had been collected on the current 2014 digest, according to tax commissioner Melinda Williams. The total of 31,706 tax bills that were mailed to county taxpayers in 2014 was $43.7 million. This includes state, county, school, and Winder fire taxes. The 2014 tax bills were sent out Oct. 14, 2014.

Winder council member Alfonso Brown was one of those listed on the delinquent taxpayer list. He owns eight properties and although he has paid more than half of his overdue tax bills, there was still $1,265 left unpaid on his account as of March 30.